Summary
Piero della Francesca harnessed mathematical theory and geometry, combining them with Renaissance humanism, to create some of the most arresting religious paintings of the early Renaissance. His use of linear perspective and foreshortening brought biblical scenes and legends to life, and his emulation of classical figures and compositions lend his paintings a stability and gravitas even if their subjects are often mysterious.
Now celebrated as one of the most important Italian painters of the quattrocento (15th century), Piero della Francesca languished in obscurity for several centuries. While he did not inspire many artists during the Renaissance, the quiet grandeur and precision of his paintings spoke to a host of 20th-century avant-garde artists from Georges Seurat and Giorgio de Chirico to Balthus and Philip Guston.
Key Ideas
Most Important Art
Polyptych of the Misericordia (1445-62)
One can see the influences of Masaccio, especially in the crucifixion scene, as well as Brunelleschi, but this polyptych encapsulates the stark simplicity and geometrical exactitude for which Piero della Francesca is most known. The form of the Madonna is almost perfectly symmetrical and is in itself formed of a series of geometrical shapes: her head is a perfect oval, her neck is cylindrical, and the folds of her robes are comprised of triangular forms and parallel lines. The gold background, a specific request of the confraternity, forced Piero to abandon the landscaped backgrounds, of which he was so fond. In a response to this restriction, Piero created space with the figures themselves. For example, the Madonna's curved robes echo an apse, an architecturally significant part of church designs, and Piero foreshortened the feet of the four saints on either side of her, suggesting that they are standing in a physical space instead of the featureless gold field. The use of limited colors as well as simple geometrical shapes give the polyptych an almost modern sense of "unreality" that prompts solemn contemplation on the part of the spectator.
The Baptism of Christ (c.1448-50)
The Baptism of Christ was originally the central panel of an altarpiece commissioned for the chapel of St. John the Baptist in an abbey in Borgo San Sepolcro and flanked by two other panels painted by Matteo di Giovanni. It is likely that above the central panel there was a roundel that depicted God, thus completing the symbolism of the Trinity: God the Father, the Holy Spirit (depicted as a dove), and Christ. During the Christian rite of baptism, the Holy Spirit enters the individual, marking him or her as a child of God.
The statuesque poses of the figures and the separation of the groups lends a sense of stillness and quiet to the panting, captivating viewers since its relocation to London in the late 19th century. American artist Philip Guston wrote in 1965, "In The Baptism of Christ, we are suspended between the order we see and an apprehension that everything may again move."
The Death of Adam (1452-66)
Piero's famous geometry is crucial to the painting's composition. The tree forms a column at the perfect center of the painting, branching out into the clear sky. The monochromatic handling of color and triangular compositions in the groupings of figures give the painting a sense of visual unity. Even though three narrative stages are shown in the painting, Piero managed to make each scene seamlessly fit together in one continuous landscape. The pale and monochromatic palette of this painting, along with the geometrical shapes created by the bodies of figures, influenced several 20th-century artists, particularly Balthus.
The Flagellation of Christ (c.1455)
Even with the various interpretations that stress political or theological analyses, everyone agrees on Piero's magisterial use of linear perspective to create the mysterious scene. The receding of the floor tiles extends deep into the picture, allowing the spectator to imagine that she could take a few steps forward and enter the scene. Even if the two scenes take place at different historical moments, as suggested by some theories, the two are joined in occupying the interior and exterior of the same space. Piero's rendering of the floor and columns is so accurate that scholars have reconstruct the full space depicted in the painting.
Art historian Frederick Hartt called this painting "the ultimate realisation of the ideals of the second Renaissance period," and the impact of Piero's perspectival composition and the cryptic and inscrutable subject can be seen in the 20th-century Surrealist paintings of Giorgio de Chirico.
The Resurrection (1460-65)
The use of space in this painting is particularly captivating. Piero creates a realistic space with a landscape of a Tuscan village that extends behind Christ, but the figures before the tomb are pressed right up to the surface of the picture plane, giving the illusion that Christ, whose foot rests upon the top of the tomb, is about to step out of the picture itself. This illusion makes the viewer feel she is present at this frozen moment in time, and it is heightened by Christ's direct gaze. To further place the scene in the original viewers' present space and time, Piero dresses the Roman soldiers in contemporary, 15th-century dress.
For many years this painting was largely unknown to those who had not visited Borgo San Sepolcro, but it began to receive attention in the late 19th century. The pyramidal compositions of the soldiers and the stillness of the scene inspired Georges Seurat's Bathers at Asnières (1884), and in particular Seurat posed one of the bathers to echo Piero's leftmost figure. A few decades later, writer Aldous Huxley called it "the greatest picture in the world."
The Duke and Duchess of Urbino (1467-75)
The two figures offer a notable contrast to one another. The Duchess is painted with the smooth skin and pallor associated with refined women of the time, and her hair is intricately plaited and accessorized in the latest fashion. The Duke, however, is shown as a far less attractive figure by Renaissance standards. His skin is tanned, wrinkled, and spattered with warts, and the heavy set of his eyes and profile of his nose are unabashedly displayed, with his plain red clothing doing little to distract from his face. These features, though, highlight his wisdom, strength, bravery, and experience, and the red clothes signify his papal connections.
The seemingly disparate pair are brought together by their eye contact as well as the continuation of the rolling hills in the landscape behind them. Piero emphasizes the united front of the couple as elite leaders in society by painting on the reverse of the panels an allegorical scene of the Duke and Duchess each in a triumphal chariot surrounded by virtues. Much like the appearance of the figures on the front, these correlate to their genders and roles; the Duke is surrounded by the virtues of Wisdom, Valour, Justice, and Moderation, while the Duchess sits in the company of Faith, Hope, and Charity.